SOUTH CHINA SEA (Oct. 2, 2022) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76), right, conducts a replenishment-at-sea with the Military Sealift Command Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler USNS Rappahannock (T-AO 204) while conducting operations in the South China Sea. Higgins is participating in multilateral exercises in the South China Sea in support of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Indo-Pacific deployment, along with the Royal Canadian Navy. Routine multilateral exercises like this strengthen interoperability and our mutual commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Donavan K. Patubo)